this post was submitted on 19 Jun 2025
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Privacy

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“To facilitate this vetting, all applicants for F, M and J non-immigrant visas will be asked to adjust the privacy settings on all their social media profiles to ‘public’”, the official said. “The enhanced social media vetting will ensure we are properly screening every single person attempting to visit our country.”

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[–] bitwolf@sh.itjust.works 8 points 44 minutes ago

They finally catch up on technology just in time to be behind again.

Many are rejecting social media at this point. That number will continue to grow

[–] zod000@lemmy.ml 10 points 1 hour ago (2 children)

So, what happens when someone that doesn't have social media accounts applies for a visa? I assume they just won't believe such a thing and deny the visa since you can't prove a negative. Would it make sense for such people to make a social media account and just not use it? This is ridiculous.

[–] sommerset@thelemmy.club 3 points 20 minutes ago

I guess start one, and just post praises to glorious leaders

[–] Revan343@lemmy.ca 9 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

It would make considerably more sense to not travel to the US, for education or anything else

[–] makingStuffForFun@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 hour ago (1 children)
[–] Revan343@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 hour ago

Parts of the US have excellent education. Or, well, had

[–] IttihadChe@lemmy.ml 11 points 2 hours ago

Everyone hated on her for speaking the truth.

"Do not come"

[–] kazerniel@lemmy.world 13 points 2 hours ago

By this point who in their right mind would willingly enter the USA...

[–] chemicalwonka@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

and if you don't have one?

[–] zaphod@sopuli.xyz 3 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

To them that is already suspicious enough to not let you in the country and put you on some list of known terrorists.

[–] django@discuss.tchncs.de 17 points 7 hours ago

opens fedi

presents timeline filled with non-binary catgirls meowing at each other

[–] jaybone@lemmy.zip 13 points 6 hours ago (2 children)

If you just have some random handle that isn’t your name. How are they gonna trace that to you?

[–] FauxLiving@lemmy.world 3 points 1 hour ago

How are they gonna trace that to you?

The modern Internet is essentially about spying on you as much as possible and then selling the data to whoever wants to buy it. Linking identities with devices/browsers is worth a lot of money and so most every website/app has a way of linking you to the devices and software that you use.

Unless the user took some pretty extreme measures to create the account, they've likely logged in from a phone/ip/browser that has been linked to their real identity at some point in its lifetime. That link will be sold to data brokers and used to tie the random handle to you, the person. Then the State Department just buys that information.

Alternatively, you should be assuming that sovereign entities with the means are reading all public network data. There's a lot of information that you can learn from that as well. Like, over time, the posts from the 'random' account could be strongly correlated to the times that you were accessing the site even if all of the data was encrypted with HTTPS.

Alternatively, alternatively. There is a threat known as Store Now Decrypt Later (SNDL). The idea is basically: Quantum Computers are coming and they can break some cryptographic primitives. If someone saves all of the encrypted traffic that they would want to read, in a few years they will have the means to read that data. We won't know when this moment occurs, because it'll likely be a secret, but we do know that it will happen and so you should additionally assume that anything that isn't using post-quantum encryption, which transited a public network, will be read and used to link you to your identities.

This is, essentially, the core thing that the Privacy community is attempting to mitigate.

[–] cyrano@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 6 hours ago

Officer: please wait on the side

[–] Tenderizer78@lemmy.ml 23 points 8 hours ago

Welp, looks like I won't be allowed into America. Oh no. How unfortunate.

[–] davel@lemmy.ml 36 points 9 hours ago

My visa application got rejected for posting a watermelon emoji on Myspace in nineteen dickety two.

[–] herseycokguzelolacak@lemmy.ml 23 points 9 hours ago (3 children)

Wasn't this always the case? I remember flying into the US during the Biden era as a tourist and had to declare my social media accounts.

[–] throwawayacc0430@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago) (1 children)

Biden didn't seem to care if you called him a "Demented Old Man"

This current administration is led by a crybaby

[–] Geodad@lemmy.world 1 points 9 minutes ago

Both claims are true.

[–] phantomwise@lemmy.ml 11 points 7 hours ago

Wait really? 😂

[–] cyrano@lemmy.dbzer0.com 17 points 9 hours ago

Yes I recalled that too but I don’t recall the public aspect to be turned on.

[–] KingThrillgore@lemmy.ml 75 points 12 hours ago (5 children)

I see many of these students straight up deleting their profiles.

[–] HalifaxJones@lemmy.world 4 points 2 hours ago

Im seeing people come in and out with burner phones that are set up to look clean and minimal.

[–] Halosheep@lemm.ee 57 points 11 hours ago (3 children)

Alternatively, they'll have a "public facing" social media, and a real one.

[–] skisnow@lemmy.ca 16 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

yeah, I can see not having a social media profile at all being treated as tantamount to sedition before too long

I LOVE THE SUPREME LEADER! LONG LIVE THE SUPREME LEADER!

whispers: "have they left yet?" 👀

[–] neon_nova@lemmy.dbzer0.com 17 points 9 hours ago

I’m so happy that I was able to skip all that stuff.

I stoped using my mainstream social media around the years ago.

I kept the profiles, and I think it is good as I can just share them if I’m ever required to.

[–] Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works 4 points 10 hours ago

Anyone applying to colleges probably has one already.

[–] chickenf622@sh.itjust.works 34 points 11 hours ago

Which is probably a net positive on their lives. The less social media the better.

[–] cyrano@lemmy.dbzer0.com 26 points 11 hours ago

I will imagine that will be seen as suspicious. Interesting businesss to sell clean aged social media account for US only vetting..

Me: I don’t have a social media account Officer: Sure buddy, wait on a side until you do.

[–] parody@lemmings.world 3 points 10 hours ago

Careful curation

[–] Darkard@lemmy.world 52 points 11 hours ago

"You better not have said anything mean on there that hurts Donald's feefees."

[–] orca@orcas.enjoying.yachts 37 points 11 hours ago

The subtext here: “if you post anti-Israel stuff, you can kiss your chances goodbye!”

[–] Greyghoster@aussie.zone 25 points 11 hours ago

Looks like the US is not the country of choice anymore. Setting a profile to public means gets to see all those things you that may be embarrassing, career limiting, life threatening etc.